Life's Not Fair
by Rashaka
Summary: A collection of drabbles and short ficlets, of various characters and pairings. Updated: Chapter 22 - Missing Finale Moments: "Rub It In, Why Don't You" ...Toph & Sokka visit a prisoner in the FN, humor.
1. Life's Not Fair

**Life's Not Fair**

Prince Zuko was not having a good day. Point of fact, Prince Zuko was having what most folk referred to as a "right shitty day all around."

Now, a lot of people think twisting their ankle and missing their rent payment means they're having a bad day. More intelligent people think being dumped by your true love and having your house robbed while you're at your true love's house being dumped means you're having a bad day. Even wiser people would admit that being beaten up by your crown-stealing younger sibling, stripped to your underwear, denied food or water, and left chained to a rock in the middle of the forest means you're having a bad day.

Not only was Zuko beaten up by his crown-stealing younger sibling and bound mostly-naked (and very thirsty) to a rock in the middle of the forest, but he gets to refer to his day as "shitty all around" because it was in this state that one of his many _other_ enemies happened upon him.

Nope, not those pesky pirates. Nor was it the vengeful disembodied spirit of the late great admiral. It wasn't even a pack of opportunistic Earth Kingdom children looking for target practice.

No, it was the people Prince Zuko wanted to see least of all in the world at that moment: the Avatar and his merry entourage of sychophants and zoo animals.

The prince stared at them, not quite sure what to say. They stared back at his lack of clothing, also stunned into silence.

The moment dragged on.

"Whoa," the Avatar eventually said. At that, the water tribe boy started pointing and laughing hysterically. Zuko was too proud to close his eyes or look away, so he stared right back at them and tried to retain as much dignity as one in his circumstances possibly can. He noticed the girl wasn't laughing, but her gawking stare wasn't hardly better.

Eventually they got a hold of themselves and started discussing what, if anything, they should do in this situation. They were very pointedly loud about it, wanting to be certain he heard every new theory and all its potential consequences. Zuko used the experience to fuel his inner desire to kill things.

After at least ten minutes of debate, they decided the most appropriate solution was to leave him exactly where he was as a sight for the next passerby to enjoy, and the passerby after that. Why rob the rest of the Earth Kingdom of this most entertaining display? So with great pleasure they bowed mockingly, turned, and walked off. That is until the waterbender held up her hand.

"Wait," she said. "I forgot something."

She turned back and strode over to Zuko. He stared warily at her. She walked right up and looked him in the eye. Then she deliberately and slowly walked in a circle around him, making sure to stand as close as possible, even with the rock in the way behind him. Zuko stiffened and tried to lean back in the opposite direction. She grinned.

"What?" he snapped.

"Oh nothing," she said in a sing-song voice. "Just basking in the irony."

Zuko growled at her under his breath, and a tiny puff of flame escaped his nostrils.

She giggled, patted his head, and said, "Good horsey."

He roared and sent a stream of spiteful fire at her face, but the little insect had already scampered off into the trees with her friends, laughing.

Perfectly shitty end to a perfectly shitty day.

Zuko tugged in vain at his chains again, and stewed. As if everything else hadn't been bad enough, now the hateful girl was somewhere out there laughing at him. And she'd called him a... Zuko shook his head furiously, pony-tail swinging, and tried to wipe the entire encounter from his mind. There was only so much ignominy a person of royalty could take in single day. He decided to lean his head against the rock behind him and try and get some sleep.

Three minutes later it started to rain, and Zuko lost all faith in the world.

--------

Dedicated to LJ's **illumis**, who pointed out Zuko's uncanny resemblance to a bad-tempered horse.


	2. Ye Olde Cliché

Alright. So. I decided I wanted to collect all my drabbles in one place, so I'm moving some of them from Livejournal over to here. And rather than make yet another entry, I thought I'd just designate "Life's Not Fair" as a drabble and go from there. It's pretty short anyway. So I'm changing the category from humor to general, and this is going to be where all my drabbles go that AREN'T Katara/Zuko. Those go to "The Moon And The Sun."

**Title:** Ye Olde Cliché  
**Challenge:** none  
**Warnings:** unconventional het

* * *

**Ye Olde Cliché**

"You know," Sokka said with a hard stare, "This is the fourth time you've kidnapped me to 'find the Avatar'. I'm beginning to get some strange ideas here."

He was currently chained to the wallin one of the cleaner cells in the brig. The child of Ozai was staring at him like a piece of meat hanging from a butcher's rack.

"Granted, it sort of worked the other three times, sure they came to rescue me, but I wouldn't put bets on them coming again. They might just wait for you to torture information out of me then dump me at the next port, since you obviously don't plan on killing me. You didn't even chain my legs this time. In fact, I'm not even sure these shackles on my hands are really that firmly attached to the wall. I'd appreciate knowing—"

Sokka stopped talking as Zula ran a burning finger in a slow line down the front of his shirt, and both of them bent their heads to watch asthe clothfell open in two neat, flutterypieces. The skin underneath wasn't even singed—just a little warm. And tingly.

"Oh," he said. Princess Zula grinned.


	3. A Lifetime In A Hundred Years

**theavatar100 theme**: Crossover.

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**A Lifetime In A Hundred Years**

For a hundred years, the boy called Aang slept. And for a hundred years, the spirit of the Avatar wandered.

It wandered time and dimension. It was as old as the universe and without a mortal body to contain It there was no where It could not go. But humanity was Its weakness and one day It was captured by humans. Locked into a body not of Its choosing, a container that constrained Its power and robbed It of Its memories.

The spirit of the Avatar was a girl again.

Young, brave, and no knowledge of herself.

She had a sister. And then she had an enemy.

And the day came when The Key remembered herself, and the world gates opened with violence and light, and the sister died.

The Avatar, the key to all things, lived an entire lifetime as that girl. She welcomed her sister back and she saved the world again and eventually, after many years, she died. It was a quiet death. The only quiet death the Avatar had ever known, and It was thankful for that.

_Release._

For years more the spirit traveled, looking for home again. Returning to the world It loved best and the self It'd left behind.

_Home_, the spirit thought, and became Aang once more.

When the ice cracked and the Avatar was free It looked at the girl and loved her all over again. _Sister_, It named her, _you followed me here_.

Aang woke, and a hundred years had passed.

* * *

_And of course the sister is doomed to fall in love with a Bad Boy again. This particular older sister has this problem, you see, of constantly being attracted older, somewhat evil guys..._

XD Yeah, okay, I'm just cracking myself up here.


	4. Desideratum

**theavatar100 challenge:** #1, vision  
**Warning:** Zula, spoilers for episode 20

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**Desideratum**

"Zula."

It rankled her, to know that he was born first.

"Kneel before your lord and father."

She was stronger. She was _better_. She had all the gifts and all the charisma. Her face would move ships and her voice would move cities. She even had Father's love. She had everything that he didn't.

"You are my court's most prized pupil. You have proven yourself worthy of carrying my blood."

Except the thing she wanted most of all. And no incompetence on his part could change the fact that as long as he was alive she would never have it.

"Iroh is a traitor, and your brother Zuko is a failure."

But that was a situation soon to be rectified.

"I have a task for you."

Zula locked her eyes on the throne.


	5. Two Beginnings

**theavatar100 Challenge:** #34, the morning after  
**Warning:** mild allusion to sexual content, pre-series,OC pairing

* * *

**Two Beginnings**

They lay in the bed of their morning with leg curled between leg and breast touching back. It was a heaven all their own, their first taste of a life rededicated. To the young man, the knock on the door was a distraction, something to dealt with and quickly forgotten. He opened mica eyes, kissed the dozing figure beside him, and rolled off the mattress.

He pulled at the door without bothering for a shirt, and stared sleepily at the interloper. The visitor, all crisp uniform and gleaming armor, handed him a paper scroll.

Seven minutes passed and the young woman, clad in the white of sheets and the bronze of shoulders, found him against the wall. The letter in his grasp was wrinkled from worry, and she could see the tremble in his breath.

"That was one of your regiment, wasn't it? What did they want?"

The youth looked into the blue eyes of his new wife.

"Lord Souzen is calling us to war."


	6. Precious and Fragile Things

**Warning:** um...slightly morose? No pairings.  
**Challenge:** #35 - Memory

**

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**

**Precious and Fragile Things**

"Nurse, attend to me."

"Yes my lord?"

"There was a boy, a little boy. I saw him all the time; he used to bring me apples. He was always singeing his shirtsleeves."

"Yes... my lord. ...There was such a boy."

"Why hasn't he been around lately?"

"It's been many years; does my lord not remember?"

"Has it been so long? I...I cannot recall."

"Yes, my lord."

"Well what happened to him?"

"My lord... he was executed. On his seventeenth birthday."

"You must be mistaken. I'm talking about a child."

"Yes...I understand now, my lord. That boy was your son, my lord."

"My...son?"

"Yes, my lord."

"How strange. I cannot-- cannot recall--- did there used to be a child here? He brought me apples sometimes. He hasn't come by in a while, though. Do you know where he's gone, Nurse?"


	7. Winning Isn't A Habit, It's a Mindset

**warnings:** non-explicit discussion of sex and violence; Zula, no pairing  
**challenge:** none

* * *

**Winning Isn't A Habit, It's A Mindset**

Contrary to popular palace rumor, Princess Zula was not a sex kitten.

She was not a sex tiger in bed, either. In fact Zula had never even had someone in her bed, a habit she felt no hurry to change. Sex, it seemed to Zula, represented merely a temporary victory—a little death, as they called it. Zula much preferred the smell of burnt flesh or the accidental snap of an opponent's neck in the sparring ring. That was permanent. That was _lasting. _

Sex would only afford her fleeting triumph, and when Princess Zula won, she liked to win thoroughly.


	8. By Any Other Name

**Word Count: **100 (yay!)  
**Warning: **AU  
**theavatar100 Challenge: **#26 – fish out of water

* * *

**By Any Other Name**

"Danish grandmother," she'd tell people for kicks, but they'd assume she wore contacts.

"I just like the smell of the ocean," she'd explain, and they'd shrug.

"I don't see why Chinese food is so popular," she'd mutter, eyeballing the fiery dragon painted on the bowl.

"Sometimes I wonder if it's normal for paper cuts to heal so quickly," she'd confess in a moment of honesty to her boyfriend.

"A changeling," Katherine read once in a book in a library in a city in another world in another life, "is the spirit left behind when a human child is stolen away."

* * *

So who was Katara switched with at birth? I dunno. Probably some poorkid from Kansas name Mary-something. ;)


	9. Entropy

**Wordcount:** 202  
**Warning: **no pairings, Zula, future AU  
**Challenge:** none  
**

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**

Entropy (Of Lost Potential)  


Zula, daughter of Ozai, could have been the greatest firebender that ever lived.

Not since the records of the last fire-born Avatar, Roku son of Seisho, had the world seen such ferocity and craft. Even Lord Souzu himself could not harness the flame of Agni with the swiftness and youth that Princess Zula achieved.

At the age of four she surpassed her elder brother in skill.

At the age of six, she surpassed him in power.

At the age of nine, she outstripped one of the Fire Lord's personal bodyguards in a test of raw conflagration.

At the age of thirteen she achieved the title of Grandmaster, and it was thought that there were less than five firebenders in all the empire who could defeat her.

When she was met by her brother in battle at the age of fifteen, flame arched through the air without even a twitch of her fingers.

She could have been the greatest firebender that ever lived.

But in the end Zula, daughter of Ozai, was nothing more than a candle on the eve of greatness, murdered in her sleep by a masked assassin on the very night she defeated the Dragon of the West. 


	10. The Cave of The Two Lovers

**theavatar100 Challenge:** #42 Culture and Music  
**Pairings:** None  
**Wordcount:** 100!  
**Warning:** Title spoiler for an unknownseason 2 episode. Pure speculation in the drabble itself, however.

* * *

**The Cave of The Two Lovers**

Objects lay scattered across the floor of the cave, spilling out of boxes and dusty trunks. The avatar and the siblings stepped carefully through the wreckage of treasures.

They touched nothing, but it was impossible not to stare. In pieces around them lay the lives of a man and a woman who'd made a home in this dank, dark place. Bowls and ceramics from the Fire Nation slept beside woven blankets and utensils of the Earth Kingdom. As he passed Sokka's pant leg brushed the old wood of a mandolin; its strings hung shorn and silent, like a willow tree.


	11. Untitled

SPOILERS FOR THE SEASON PREMIER.

This is the most rapidly-written raw drabble ever, but I had to write _something_ after that episode.

* * *

**UNTITLED**

After weeks of trying to find Aang in Omashu, of worry and fear—

_"Yes, there is a bald boy. A powerful bender, the likes of which I've rarely seen. But you won't find him here-- he was badly burned by the Fire Nation, and is resting at old Lao Mai's."_

—she's come to the right place.

"He's inside," the woman whispers. With a nod Katara pushes open the tent flap then lets it swing closed behind her. In candlelight she can see a body making hills of the blankets.

She approaches, fingers nervous with untapped energy. A large basin of water sits by the bed, and the capsule of liquid from the oasis rested safely on her neck. Katara cannot imagine a more worthy use of it than to heal the Avatar who will save them all.

Her hand pushes the blanket down from his face, and all of Katara's faculties leave her like a gust of wind.

A statue, hands trembling instead of healing, she looks down at the face of a prince.


	12. Clothes Make The Man

**Title:** Clothes Make The Man  
**Rating:** G  
**Wordcount: **100!  
**Challenge:** none  
**Warning:** (visual only; wardrobe-changing spoilers for the season 2 promo)

* * *

**Clothes Make The Man**

Zuko picked at the material if his new clothes in disgust. _Robes_. Robes were for sleeping and for clergy. Uncle Iroh wanted to travel as inconspicuously as possible but this was bordering ridiculous. Zuko'd already been asked once to give resting rites at some villager's funeral.

Was he going to have that conversation everywhere they went? Before he knew it he'd be marrying lovebirds and begging for tithes and it'd be _So long crown and throne! I've got babies to bless._

...Oh _hell_ no.

Lines had to be drawn, and Prince Zuko drew his at babies.


	13. Mental Imagery

**Mental Imagery**

Toph joined Aang and Sokka where they were packing up the tents and clearing up the campfire. The earthbender cleared her throat pointedly.

"Sugar Queen is being as lazy as you this morning. Must be a family trait. Also, she says if you try to make her get up again she'll hurt you."

"What's she so pissy about anyway?" Sokka asked, remembering the way she'd nearly sliced his head off with water a few minutes ago.

"She said you woke her up from a great dream."

"A great dream?" Aang piped up, curious. "A great dream about what?"

"She was vague, but she did mention something about a three-way mud wrestling match between some guy named Haru, some other guy named Han, and Zuko. Hey, isn't Zuko that firebender from the other day?"

Unfortunately, no one answered her question. The boys were too busy picking their jaws up from the ground.

"Haru?" Sokka repeated dumbly.

"Zuko!" Aang exclaimed.

"_Han?"_ Sokka sputtered.

Toph shrugged. "I don't get what's so great about mud-wrestling anyway. Must be a vision thing. Doesn't sound that wonderful though—it sounds all wet and slippery and dirty. People probably tripping and falling all over each other. You know, awkward and touchy-feely. Is that what it looks like? Hey, Twinkletoes, are you listening? Aang? Sokka? Why are you both lying on the ground? Hey. Hey! Did you guys seriously just_ faint_ on me?"


	14. Capture Fic Redux

Warning: mention of graphic violence.

* * *

**Capture Fic Redux**

"He's like a cat," Azula growled, pacing across the deck of her battleship. "He's always useless and in the way, but you just can't manage to _kill_ him. Permanently, anyway." Hogtied and paralyzed at her feet was the waterbender, who currently sported a black eye and burn marks up and down her arms.

"There's a saying about cats." Mei looked up from the pai sho game she was suffering through at Ty Lee's request. "I believe it involves skinning."

Ty Lee, who was losing badly, made a face. "That's so gross, Mei. Azula, do you think they'll come for her?"

"Absolutely. We've all seen that the mighty Avatar is a creampuff; he'd never let a subordinate die in capture."

"We're not _subordinates_," Katara finally snapped from her place lying prone on the deck. They'd never bothered to gag her, but until now Katara hadn't felt like it was worth it to talk. It probably still wasn't worth it, but at least she could keep them from slandering Aang. "We're _friends_, and that's why he'll come back for me."

Azula laughed, and it would have been beautiful if Katara didn't know there was only acid underneath.

"And what about my doltish brother? Will he be coming after you too?" She crouched on the balls of her feet, and tilted down her head to look prisoner eye to eye. "Does he find sea slugs to be adequate bedwarmers? I would think they'd be cold and slimy. But he always did attract parasites."

Katara spat in her royal little face.

"You bitch!" Azula snapped, hastily wiping the spittle from her cheek. She looked at her wet fingertips, then down at Katara. The waterbender smiled, showing all her teeth. Azula growled and her hand shot out to close around Katara's neck. At first it looked like a chokehold, but then dark skin beneath Azula's fingers began to smoke, and the waterbender started screaming.

Ty Lee and Mei watched for a moment, then went back to their game.


	15. Better Uses

This drabble is dedicated spefically to shewhodanceswithphoenixes. It was...inspired by you, one might say. Remember: every time someone leaves a homophobic fic review a dead baby Jesus spits up blood on someone's shirt.

Warning: mild R-rated petting and suggestive dialogue.

**

* * *

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**Better Uses**

"Look, buddy," Sokka mumbled, trying to undo the knot holding up Zuko's pants. He couldn't get a decent grip on the string, and his other hand was _so very busy_ right now, "I don't like you. I think you're a selfish---"

Zuko's mouth closed down on one of Sokka's nipples, the younger boy was mometarily jarred out of coherent thought.

"You're a selfish--- a selfish jerk---" Sokka gave up on Zuko's pants when he felt the hand around his cock tighten. "---and you probably only want to steal our food and---"

"Shut _up_," Zuko squeezed Sokka's ass and moved his hand from the boy's crotch to grab his chin instead. "Don't you ever open that mouth for anything useful?"


	16. crossover fic doodling

What happens when I read a lot of Avatar: TLAB fic, read some of one of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, and wonder about the Naruto manga, all in one day? I write snippets of crack crossover fic. This one has Shikamaru, Aang, and Sokka. The Terry Pratchett influence comes with the narrative style.

I actually wrote this a while ago, but it was just burning space on my LJ, so why not post?

* * *

**_crossover fic doodling_**

To say that Shikamaru was an easygoing sort of guy would, under most circumstances, be a rather severe understatement. Shikamaru was casual the way oceans are wet. When his peers were asked to describe him, most of them could come up with nothing more creative than "Shikamaru...he's just this guy, you know?" His closer friends would manage to work the adjective "smart" in there somewhere, but only if they felt like being accurate.

Shikamaru was a ninja by trade. It was a job he'd sort of fallen into, being that it was a family tradition and he lived in the ninja equivalent of a company town. Did Shikamaru _like_ being a ninja? Not really. Did he want to be something else? Perhaps, but he'd already done the training for being a ninja, and switching this late would be too much work. Besides, it wasn't that he _disliked_ being a ninja. It was more the case that he disliked the societal construct of occupations in general. Nevertheless, being a ninja was his job and most days he was willing to do it. Today was not shaping up to be one of those days.

Today he was staring into the eyes of a genin-sized bald kid who claimed it was his "ninja duty" to teach said bald kid how to "bend shadows like that," since apparently the bald kid was a Special Bald Kid, and being a Special Bald Kid meant he deserved to know that sort of thing.

Shikamaru had had just about enough experience growing up with "Special" kids not to fall for that trick. If he was so terribly special he would eventually figure it out himself. Plus, teaching was troublesome. Shikamaru religiously avoided the troublesome things in life.

"Please PLEASE, you have to teach me!" the Special Bald Kid crowed, floating about Shikamaru like a hummingbird. Literally floating in this case, but that was hardly impressive to a Konoha ninja.

"Why don't you just show him," muttered a brown-skinned boy about his own age. "Just show him a little and trust me, he'll figure out the rest on his own."

Shikamaru tried to close his eyes and ignore them.

"I can learn, I swear! I've never seen anyone bend light before but I'm sure I could do it if you showed me PLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEAAAASE!"

Shikamaru closed his eyes tighter. It was like listening to Naruto in his Academy days after a meal of solid sugar. Amusing for a moment and then rapidly exhausting. He could outlast them, though. If he ignored them they'd eventually go away. After all, he had a mission to complete. This kid was not his mission.

Unfortunately for Shikamaru, ignoring didn't work very well with Aang. The boy changed tactics, blurting out, "You're foreign, aren't you? If you teach me that shadow bending, I'll help you find where you need to go!"

_Brighter than Naruto_, Shikamaru noticed with grumbled resignation. He popped one eye open. "Do you know where I can find Prince Zuko, son of Ozai?" he asked them.

The boy stopped dead, all the bubbliness draining from his expression. Shikamaru noted the other boy tense up as well.

"Why do you need to find _him?_" the darker one asked.

_So I can assassinate him,_ Shikamaru thought with a much-troubled-sigh, but elected only to say "I was assigned to contact him and deliver a message," in his blandest possible voice. Which was, in fact, _very_ bland.

The little Special Bald Kid was peering at Shikamaru like he knew he was lying. Shikamaru thought the kid was bluffing though, and kept his face straight when he was asked, "What's this message about?"

"State business," Shikamaru replied, which _was_ true. His village had been hired by one of the minor lords of the Fire Nation to take care of their renegade prince and clear the way for the princess to ascend the throne. The Hokage and the village council were surprised that the lord in question would go so far into foreign territory just to request an outsider contract, but the payment was hefty and shinobi villages were very good about not asking too many questions, especially in a drought year. They picked their newest (and cleverest) ANBU rookie and shipped him off to very foreign places with a scroll full of information on his target. Unfortunately, since arriving in this accursed land, Shikamaru had realized all his information on the target was two years old at best, and the target was rather annoyingly mobile.

Finding the stupid prince had become a frustrating task, and Shikamaru was not above entertaining some kid to get it over with sooner.

* * *

...and that's all that ever got writ, so to speak.

If you didn't catch it, the Douglas Adams ref was : "Zaphod... he's just this guy, you know?"


	17. The 'One'

**Title:** The 'One'  
**Fandom:** Avatar: The Last Airbender  
**Category:** Humor  
**Characters:** Toph, Sokka  
**Wordcount:** 230  
**Spoilers:** Season 2 finale, vaguely.

**Summary:** Greatest earthbender alive, dammit.

* * *

**The 'One'**

She was so close. She could feel it, any moment now. She just had to push a _little_ more.

"Almost...come _on_...stupid, cheap silver...bend dammit..."

"Toph, what are you doing?"

Toph Bei Fong shrieked and hurriedly folded her arms up into her cloak sleeves, then pretended to be staring blindly in the wrong direction. "Oh, hey Sleepy Face. What's up?"

Sokka was not fooled. "Toph...were you... bending a spoon?"

"What spoon?" The Bei Fong heiress glanced around innocently, and whistled. Her arms were still tucked tightly together. "I don't see a spoon. There is no spoon."

"Of course you wouldn't _see_ the spoon, you're--"

"Blind, sure, that's me!" interrupted Toph. She began to wail dramatically, making the ground shake. "You just had to bring it up again, didn't you! You're so insensitive!"

Sokka sensed in his stomach that something was not quite _right _in this accusation, but he was distracted by Toph's crying and the accompanying fear that she might do him bodily harm.

"Hey, don't get upset, Toph! I'm sorry I said anything, okay?" He backed out of the kitchen and called, "Look, I'm leaving now. Bye!"

Toph stopped fussing as soon as the door shut.

She took the spoon out of her sleeve and set it on the counter.

"Alright," she said to the utensil. "We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way."

* * *

_Dedicated to and inspired by **Doozigitis** who spawned this brilliant idea._


	18. 1Sentence fics

_Assorted 1-sentence stuff. No prompts. One HHGG reference. The first sentence was made into a gorgeous fanart by **Irrel** after I begged and pouted my way onto her to-do fanart list. Go to **Irrel**'s DeviantArt page and look it up._

_

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_

**Assorted One-Sentence Fics**

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_Maps  
_Here is Zuko, hunched over a traitor's table with ink-stained fingers, calling up lessons from childhood to kill his father and save his people.

_Battle the First _  
Here is Katara, nine years old and shouting through her father's arms, "Come back here and fight! I don't need waterbending to kick you in the shins, stupid boy!"

_With Salt_  
"Fine, you're right, all of you! I couldn't capture the Avatar! I can't master lightning bending! I can't cook and I can't hunt and I can't sing for my dinner! But I'll tell you what I can do. I can fight! Better than you," he swung his finger around to point at Aang, then Katara, "and better than you, and most certainly better than you!" Sokka bristled and opened his mouth to argue, but Zuko's tirade continued. "And you all know it! So if anyone's going to be entering a sparring contest it's damn well going to be me!"

_Pieces of Home _  
His first promise to her came as an invitation; when Katara complained of the drizzle that soaked their tents to a slow damp, Zuko laughed and said she'd never known real rain until she witnessed a Fire Nation monsoon.

_How can we eat? Why do we eat? Where shall we have lunch?_  
Katara likes to sup with others, likes to hear the sounds they make and the faces they give as hunger falls into friendship anew.


	19. Trust Has A Taste

**Spoilers:** 3x**13** implied, I'm unspoiled for anything else, so please keep your reviews clean!

**  
Timeline: **Some time in the very near future of The Firebending Masters, implied reference to that episode's events.

**Summary:** _"It's called peanut butter," said Zuko, who was already mourning the loss of half the jar to Sokka's greedy stomach._

**Comments:** Short thing about trust/friendship/conflict more than romance. Inspired by my new love and discovery of Maria V. Snyder's novels. This drabble was written exactly a month ago, before the trailer or leaked episodes were released. It's a general sort of scene, lacking true context, so you can interpret the situation however you choose. It's also, um, a bit weird in mood. It goes from light to serious very quickly, and how you read it is up to you.

This was posted on LJ, but has been re-written and made longer, and then it turned into Sokka/Katara sibling time.

* * *

**Trust Has A Taste**

"What is this ?" Sokka asked, swirling his finger into the small pot and extracting a dollop of brown goop. The stuff was greasy and the nearly slid off his finger in the midday heat, but Sokka never let food escape in his vicinity, particularly any new and exotic food. The three young travelers had stopped at the back of a food and supply shop building. It was the first day after rest-day; around the corner the noise of the morning marketplace bustled and hummed as they prepared for a week of bartering.

In the shadows of the alley wall, Katara and Zuko watched the blissful transformation slide over Sokka's face. Katara's features pinched as she examined the thick, drippy substance her brother was licking with wholehearted devotion. "It looks gross," she said.

"It tastes _divine_."

"It's called peanut butter," said Zuko, who was already mourning the loss of half the jar to Sokka's bottomless digestive system. "It's rare--the nuts used to make it grow only on Yamarik Island, and every jar or pot of peanut butter you see is shipped from there, so merchants can charge as much as they want."

The oldest son of the Southern Water Tribe licked his lips. "Zuko, I almost don't completely hate your country."

Zuko said, "Good," and plucked the small pot out of Sokka's fingers. "We should save the rest for the others. But," he turned the open end of the container to Katara, "Go ahead and try it before I put it away."

She cautiously dipped her index finger into the brown substance, which was gritty and thick, but smoother and more wet than paste. She held the finger before her face and avoided the boys' gazes. She licked her lips, and let her eyes drift in her brother's direction.

"You're not allergic to nuts, are you?" Zuko asked after a few seconds. He frowned, "If you are, it might trigger a dangerous reaction."

"No," replied Katara. "I'm not allergic."

"Then why--" Zuko looked intently at Katara, then at Sokka. Katara was dissecting her brother with her eyes, watching his breathing and body language. Her gaze ran up and down his frame, while the nut paste sat untouched on her finger. In a rush of humiliation Zuko recognized the girl's behavior: his sister had once watched him with the same careful examination, many years ago. Zuko remembered perfectly the intensity of Princess Azula's stare before the wave of nausea sent him to a world of blackness and pain.

"You think I'd poison you," the former prince whispered, his voice low, and threaded with bitterness. "You think I would do that, even after everything I've done to show you my loyalty."

The cheerful ease of morning was sucked out of the air, and it left a dead pocket of silence so profound that the noise of the market seemed to thunder in the distance. Zuko looked at Katara, Katara looked at Zuko, and Sokka--mouth thick with greasy treat--whispered a prayer to his ancestors that they would all leave this alley. No one grabbed their weapons, neither bender had even moved, but Sokka could feel his heart scrabbling up his throat. Every conversation between these two was a tightrope, and he'd forgotten, been distracted, when it was his job to prevent this moment from ever happening.

A leaf blew into the shaded area, carried on a breeze that smelled of oils, cloth, and vegetables baking in the morning heat. The waterbender straightened as she felt the air change. There was a bright and fevered flare in Katara's cool blue eyes, and she calmly put the peanut butter in her mouth.

She did not break eye contact with Zuko for the whole time it took to roll the nutty substance around her tongue and, eventually, swallow. She wanted him to watch, to know. Still holding his stare, she said, "Don't be ridiculous."

The firebender looked quickly away, then pushed the lid onto the ceramic jar, effectively sealing it for the trip from the town's market to the hidden temple. He tucked into his pack.

Sokka breathed, and found his voice. "Okay, guys, Sister, Jerkbender... no one's poisoning anyone, and...and we should focus on the important thing: getting that rich and salty goodness back to our campsite. Where we can eat it! Peanut butter, you say? Great stuff."

"Great," Katara echoed obediently, flatly. She stared at her fingernails, and idly licked her lips again. The rich taste lingered.

"Camp," Zuko agreed, and walked out of the shade with a stride designed to put several feet between himself and his two companions. Sokka started to follow, and looked back at his sister with raised eyebrows. She huffed as if she didn't think she needed to explain anything, and darted to catch up.

"What was _that_ about?" Sokka whispered managing to cram a shouted lecture into a question only she could hear. "I thought he was going to kill you, or you were going to kill him. You guys can't keep acting this way."

"Leave it alone," said Katara.

"He just wanted to share something nice. Give him a little bit of trust, please. He's valuable to us. I don't want you to goad him into something we'd all regret."

"See? Even you don't trust him," she whispered, eyes locked on the young man already a block ahead of them, walking with the food pack strung across hunched shoulders.

Sokka took Katara's hand, and pulled them both to a stop. He said, "Toph and Aang _do_ trust him. If you can't forgive him, at least don't antagonize him. Please, Katara."

"Fine."

Feeling this was one of those big-brother moments he rarely got to enjoy with a sister as independent and bossy as his, Sokka pulled Katara into a hug. She resisted at first, then gave in.

"I'll be nice," she murmured. "Mostly."

"Good," said her brother, "Because I want a big, happy congratulations smile when I beat you both to the meeting point."

"What?"

"Zuko's got a head start, but he's got the pack, and besides, he's not a sprinter. Neither are you." Sokka grinned and he was off: running in the direction the prince had taken through the streets of the town and into the dark and rocky forests beyond. "Last one doesn't get any peanut butter!"

Katara stood with her mouth open for a minute, then began to run.

She knew Sokka was just doing this to make her do it; their father had used this trick. But Katara chased anyway, because she knew the trick would work. By the time they stopped she'd be too tired to fight, and then they'd be on Appa heading to the temple where she could forget this entire morning ever happened.


	20. Missing Finale Moments: Gray Sky Morning

Prompt from **hecatehatesthat**: Toph rescuing Sokka's meteor sword!

* * *

**Missing Finale Moments:**

**Gray Sky Morning**

In the shadows of morning twilight, in that hush just before the hour of providence, the great, silver bay of Shai Dan is slipping away. As the water recedes the remnants of its form trail after, pooling in shallow crags and running in rivulets like the curling hair of a sleeping goddess.

Two birds swerve and glide in the air above Shai Dan, long-winged and as gray as the sky that holds them high. One lands, hoppity and curious, on an outcropped shape sticking up from black, scorched rocks above the waterline. This blackness stretches miles back from the shore, a pall on a coastline once revered for its verdant landscape. The bird, impatient and hungry, stabs at the narrow shape of the outcropping with its beak. Under the dirt something glistens, and with a squawk the second bird lands as well, opposite the first. It raises its wings, hisses, and gulps at the sea air until its speckled throat expands to tripled size.

Neither bird sees the fourth shape moving slowly across the rocks, or feels the way that sooty pebble and blackened stone sink softly under the figure's feet only to rise again when the weight has passed. They are still bickering in lilting chirps and swollen feathers when voice says:

"Scram! You better not have pooped on that thing. Stupid birds."

A few pebbles spiral up around the tall perch, and the gray birds launch into the air, cursing and raging at the interloper with all the menace their cawing voices are capable of. The figure, now visible as a child wrapped in dark robes, spits on each hand them brings them together one sharp, ringing clap.

"Hiya, Space Sword. Someone's been missing you."

Smiling with teeth white as pearl in the new dawn light, she pulls the sword from the stone.


	21. Missing Finale Moments: Conseqences 1

Prompt from **redbrunja**: Toph dying because of Aang, and getting **called** on it.

* * *

**Missing Finale Moments: **

**Consequences **

(Parody Version)**  
**

**Toph:** *in spirit world*

**Toph:** Sure is pretty here...

**God:** You think so? Thanks for noticing!

**Toph:** ...

**God:** *screams* THAT'S NOT FUNNY!

* * *

**Angel That Looks Like Koh's Original Face:** Telephone call for a Toph Be Fong the First? Toph Bei Fong the First?

**Toph:** Give i' here.

**ATLLKOF:** Ma'am.

**Toph:** *to phone* Hello?

**Aang:** Toph?

**Toph:** In the ethereal.

**Aang:** Oh Toph, I'M SO SORRRRRRY! CAN YOU PLEASE FORGIVE ME?

**Toph:** No. Forgiveness is the same as doing nothing. And I'm doing a lot of nothing these days, SEEING AS I'M DEAD!

**Aang:** Toph, I---

**Toph:** GO PISS IN THE OCEAN AND SWIM! *hangs up*

**Toph:** Wow, I feel better now.

**God:** It's the chain of screaming.

**Toph:** You sure it's not a circle?

**God:** It's a chain!

* * *

This was the first thing to pop into my head, with the word "called". And I added a HIMYM reference, for kicks


	22. Missing Finale Moments: Rub It In

Prompt from **plushulala**: "I like to make myself feel better about it by pretending that Toph and Sokka visit Ozai in prison every so often so they can make fun of him."

* * *

.

**Missing Finale Moments: **

**Rub It In, Why Don't You**

**.  
**

In the blackness, the voices of two children bounced casually off stone brickwork and dirt floors. They approached: a boy, and a girl, not quickly but not slowly either. Ozai could see no light in the prison hallway, and would have dismissed them as ghosts if the two had not been, themselves, discussing the absence of light.

"But it's so _creepy_ down here!"

"It's a prison, it's supposed to be creepy. That won't change with you being able to see it."

"If you would've let me go back and get a torch or a lamp the creepiness of this place would have dropped by a third, at least. All that stuff about wasting time was bogus; we're not in a hurry anyway!"

"Did it ever occur to you that I _can_ see what's going on around us and that it's horrible, and maybe I was trying to _protect_ you from it?"

"Hah, nice try! Zuko already told us his old man is the only prisoner on this floor. You aren't seeing anything your little girl feet can't handle."

"Oh? If it's nothing, then why do you need a light, huh? Answer me that, smart boy."

"It's still enemy territory, you know. Rebels could be lurking in the darkness! Oh nevermind, we're here. Do you still have the stick to poke him with?"

Ozai _hated_ children.


End file.
